Juliet, take my hand
by Lady Snowblossom
Summary: First story in my Ronin Lover's Arc. Rowan proposes to Sage


Title: Juliet, take my hand  
  
Author: Lady Snowblossom  
  
Pairings: Rowan + Sage, Ryo + Cy  
  
Rating: PG, just to be safe  
  
Notes: First story in my Ronin Lover's Arc. There are blatant hints of Kento and Yuli, or rather Yuli chasing Kento; the big question is will he catch him? I love feedback, of course if you decide you want to flame me, you will be ignored.  
  
Disclaimer: This is where I tell you that I don't own the Ronins. Some big company does, and they absolutely refuse to share, damn them. I don't have any money, so suing me is big waste of everyone's time.  
  
"Come on, Sage! We're going to be late!" Rowan called from the bottom of the stairs.  
  
Sage sighed, and refrained from pointing out to Rowan, that he was the reason they were going to be late for Ryo and Cy's Halloween party. The archer had come home from work wired for sound and hornier than usual-even for him. Sage suspected his lover had been into some Halloween candy of the liquid sort.  
  
He stood and ran a hand down the front of his costume. He was wearing a gown straight out of Romeo and Juliet. It was made of forest green velvet and trimmed with gold braid. Its sleeves swept the floor, and were lined with gold tissue; his under skirt was also made of gold tissue. The front bared his nicely rounded false chest.  
  
He leaned forward and examined his makeup. Pursing his lips, he applied a bit more blusher, then just to tease Rowan, he painted his lips with a red lipstick that would draw attention to his mouth. Then, he picked up a gold bandit mask and donned it. The last touch was his hat, a gold fillet with a shimmering green and gold veil attached; he picked it up and placed it carefully on his head.  
  
"Well, its about time!" Rowan said, as Sage appeared at the head of the stairs. Sage glared, then descended, his slippers modestly peeping out from under the hem of his skirt. Rowan offered him, his arm, when he reached the foot of the steps.  
  
"You look wonderful, my lady!" Rowan whispered, as he leaned forward for a kiss. "You're not bad, yourself." Sage answered, as he kissed Rowan.  
  
Rowan was wearing a velvet doublet in a dark gray; white lace decorating its' sleeves and collar and a black bandit mask. The hose he was wearing were smoky gray in color, and his shoes were black.  
  
"Let's get going, shall we." Sage said, archly. Rowan smirked, and led his lover out of their home.  
  
Ryo chuckled, as he watched Kento-dressed as Henry the VIII, attempt to balance a plate, bowl, and a glass. At the same time, he was trying to fend off a determined young lady, dressed like a flapper, who seemed to be quite enamored of him. The young lady was pleading, "Please! Your majesty! I'd love to be your ninth wife!"  
  
"I see Kento has an admirer." murmured a soft voice, behind him. Ryo turned to smile at his husband; Cy was carrying a new tray of goodies. He was dressed in a Buster Brown sailor suit, complete with curls. His mask was white. Ryo had fallen over laughing hysterically, when he had first seen the outfit. Cy failed to see what was so funny, and spent the rest of the day in a royal snit. It was only by the dent of much pleading and apologizing that Ryo avoided have to spend the night on the couch.  
  
"Yes, and she seems to be quite determined." Ryo reached out and took the tray from Cy. As the pair walked towards the table together, they surveyed the loud, boisterous crowd. Everyone was dressed in a period outfit. When the invitations went out, Ryo had stressed that this was masquerade with a theme. All costumes had to be a period costume, no bug-eyed monsters, or futuristic stuff, or present day.  
  
Placing the tray down, Ryo, who was dressed as Phillip of Spain; doubled over in a fit of giggles. "Will you look at that!" He pointed into the crowd.  
  
Cy turned, frowning. "Look at what?" Scanning the partygoers, he finally saw what Ryo was sniggering about. A green haired Billy the Kid and Genghis Khan were on the floor, rolling around and groping each other with enthusiasm. "Oh, really! The party hasn't been going on for an hour, couldn't they wait?" he huffed. "At the rate, they're going, they won't last the night. And they'll miss the big moment." He complained.  
  
"Relax, Torrent. Those two baka's just thought they'd warm up the crowd." A white-haired man wearing a black domino mask, and dressed as a Roman Senator, said as he took a sip of punch. "By the way," he continued, "when are Halo and Strata going to get here?"  
  
"Any minute, I hope." Ryo replied.  
  
Rowan and Sage walked up the sidewalk to the decorated house. There was a witch on a broom flying across the roof. Skeletons hung from the eaves. Plastic pumpkins with lights inside showed the visitor to the door. Cornstalks leaned against the steps that led to the porch.  
  
There was a wind that swirled the yard's dry leaves, and set Sage's veil to fluttering. Rowan led the way up the steps and turned to help Sage manage his skirts, as he ascended the steps. Putting his arms around his lover, Rowan couldn't resist stealing a kiss from the lips that smirked so knowingly at him.  
  
"Rowan," a sedate murmur, "don't muss my lipstick."  
  
Azure eyes blazed with a serious fire. "Before this night is out, I'm going to muss more than your lipstick." The promise sizzled between the lovers. Sage shivered with anticipation. Turning, Rowan pressed the doorbell  
  
Vlad the Impaler, complete with a bloodstained stake opened the door. A long wolf whistle escaped the Impaler's lips, as Rowan and Sage brushed past him. Vlad tossed off the comment to an ogling Don Juan, "Man, I'd love to impale her with my, ah, stake!"  
  
Rowan flushed, and turned to fix the idiot with a nasty look, that was unfortunately lost because of his mask. Sage, merely laughed, and tossed his head. Walking deeper into the welter of arms, legs and twisting bodies, they found Ryo and Cy keeping track of the food.  
  
"Hello, Sonny! Where's your daddy?" Rowan patted Cy's head. The Brit batted at the archer's teasing hand.  
  
"Oh, you! Hullo, love! (This to Sage) It's about time; you got here. I need your help." Cy drew Rowan off, leaving Ryo with Sage.  
  
"He's right, you know. You two took your sweet time in getting here. You were supposed to be here an hour ago." Ryo told Sage. The golden one waved a slender hand in the direction of the kitchen.  
  
"Rowan." was all he said on that subject. "Is everyone, we know here?" Sage inquired, as he scanned the crowd.  
  
"Yeah, everyone, but Yuli, and of course, Mia. Yuli was going to come, I guess, he'll show sometime. Mia is still in France."  
  
"Yooouuur majesty! Yoo hoo!! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" The flapper was back. Black eyes bubbled with laughter behind a blue and white-feathered mask, as she approached Wildfire and Halo. She gestured with her drink.  
  
"Cuse me, has either one of you seen King Harry. We were discussing my becoming his wife, and he ran away." She pouted, then her attention was caught by something else, and the butterfly started to wander off, momentarily forgetting the object of her search.  
  
Ryo shook his head as; an eddy of guests swallowed the blue shimmering airhead. Kento was definitely in for it. That little number seemed to be obsessed.  
  
"Who is King Harry?" Sage asked, perplexed by the encounter.  
  
Ryo smirked, "Would you believe, Kento?"  
  
"KENTO!?!"  
  
In the kitchen, Rowan and Cy sat at the table. Both kept a close watch on the door; not wanting to be interrupted by the wrong person.  
  
"Is everything ready?" Rowan demanded anxiously of his co-conspirator.  
  
"Yes, at midnight, Custer will blow his bugle. I'll make the announcement and Ryo will escort Sage to the area in front of the refreshment table, and seat him on the chair, that Kento will bring out. Dais is going to create an illusion of a mediaeval garden, and you will emerge from the kitchen. What happens next is up to Sage."  
  
"Good! Well, we better rejoin the others, before someone gets suspicious. There are times, when that damn sixth sense of his is damn inconvenient!"  
  
When they rejoined the party, Ryo was dancing with Marco Polo. While Sage was twirling around the floor with Robin Hood.  
  
Dais was managing his toga, rather well and was squiring a giggling Flying Tiger from the Second World War. (The poor sap was completely oblivious to the dirty looks a Samurai; plus an Imperial foot soldier; also from WWII were giving him. Later that evening, the Flying Tiger had an accident and had to go home. There was no evidence that the pair had a hand in the occurrence.)  
  
Billy the Kid was dancing with Kento, and Genghis Khan was getting down and dirty with Leif Erickson.  
  
Rowan had just chiseled in on Robin Hood, when Kento went sprinting past with the flapper in hot pursuit.  
  
"HAAARRRRY!!!! YOU GET BACK HERE! I'LL SUE YOU FOR BREACH OF PROMISE!"  
  
The half-drunk crowd roared with laughter, as the pair vanished into the stygian darkness of the back room. Followed by the slamming of a door. Alexander the Great was looking out the window, when he announced,  
  
"Whoa! Look at Harry run! She's chasing him around the tree in the front yard! Whoops! There they go-around the house!"  
  
"I'll put a thousand yen on Harry! He'll out run her!" yelled the Red Baron.  
  
"I'll take that bet!" accepted Richard the Third.  
  
"Oh, you're all wet! She'll catch him!" snorted Captain Cook. "And I've got fifteen hundred yen, that says so!"  
  
"You're on!" the two chorused. A few other bets were made and accepted, as the more sporting members of the party chose sides.  
  
Absolute silence reigned, as the object of their bets heaved into view. The flapper was carrying a despondent King Henry. She had him wrapped and tied like a Christmas present. The band of glittering cloth that had been around her head was stuffed in his mouth.  
  
"Cuse us! But, his majesty here and I have some business to discuss! You may carry-on!" She announced, as she hauled Kento up the steps. Kento made some strangling noises, and pleaded with his eyes, as he went to his fate.  
  
The room collapsed again. Bets were settled, and the party went on.  
  
Upstairs: in one of the bedrooms.  
  
Kento went 'ummph!' as he was dropped unceremoniously on the bed. He was then rolled over to face his captor. The flapper smirked at him, then reached up and pulled off her mask, to reveal Yuli's mischievous face. Kento's eyes went wide.  
  
"Surprise." Yuli breathed. He gently tugged the band out of Kento's mouth. Hardrock spit and sputtered.  
  
"Yuli! What are you doing!"  
  
The young man grinned, and started to tug at the rope's knot. "That Kento, should be obvious. I'm untying you."  
  
"No, I mean! Why have you been chasing me all night?"  
  
A shadow of sadness crossed Yuli's face. He lowered his face until it was scant inches from Kento's. Hardrock could feel the warmth of Yuli's breath on his lips, as he whispered, "Because I want you." Then Yuli kissed him.  
  
Downstairs:  
  
"Where's Kento?" hissed Rowan to Cy, as he joined him in the kitchen, ostensibly to help Cy bring out the last of the refreshments.  
  
"I don't know. I haven't seen him since that flapper carried him upstairs."  
  
"I'm here." Kento walked into the room. His round cheerful face was somber.  
  
"Where have you been!" Rowan growled, "you almost screwed up everything!"  
  
"Rowan! Stop it!" Cy snapped.  
  
Kento shook his head. "Its' alright, Cy. Rowan is closer to the truth than he knows."  
  
Outside the Sanada/Mouri residence:  
  
Yuli stood staring, at the brightly lit house for a few moments, he turned from the gay windows, and started walking down the street, with each step he took he left a bleeding, shattered piece of his heart. He didn't pause as he dimly heard the bugle call.  
  
Inside:  
  
The lights went out as a bugle bleated a series of notes. The plastered crowd gaped in awe, as they were suddenly in the middle of a garden on a moonlit night.  
  
King Henry carried out a lovely ornate chair with an attached red velvet cushion. He placed it directly in front of a rose arbor that had been the refreshment's table.  
  
"Attention! Everyone! Before you all leave, we would like you to be a witness." Cy announced from the kitchen doorway.  
  
"Witness to what?" a voice asked.  
  
"You'll see." Cy replied.  
  
Ryo turned to Sage and offered Halo his arm. Sage took it, and allowed Ryo to lead him to the chair, where Ryo gallantly helped him to be seated, and kneeling on one knee, helped to arrange his skirts. Ryo, then rose and faded into the background.  
  
Everyone held their collective breaths as Rowan, carrying a red rose walked up to Sage, and went down on bent knee.  
  
He held out the flower, as he looked up into Sage's dark lavender eyes.  
  
"Sage, this rose is the symbol of my love for you, and hidden in its heart is the symbol of the constancy of that love. Take the rose, and withdraw the symbol and answer me, a question." With those words, Rowan pressed the rose into Sage's limp hands, and waited breathlessly for him to take it.  
  
Halo stared down into the azure eyes of his own true love, and with shaking fingers wrapped a hand around the green stem, and with the other delicately parted the lips of the rose's petals. A glint of gold teased his suddenly tearing eyes, as he pressed the petals further apart, and withdrew a golden band, set not with a diamond, but a square cut emerald.  
  
Rowan took the ring from Sage, and taking Halo's left hand in his left, placed the ring at the tip of Sage's finger. Looking up, he whispered into the cathedral like silence. "Sage Date, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"  
  
Tears stood in the corners of Sage's eyes, as he whispered in a choked voice, " Yes!"  
  
And the roof nearly came off the house, at the roar that tore from all throats present, as Rowan slid the ring home. 


End file.
